Melissa Torres81 said:I have a phobia of dogs. Honestly, I'm afraid of animals in general, but dogs are my absolute nightmare...
I get it, though it’s changed for me. Just yesterday, I ran into this massive dog. It headed straight for me out of nowhere—just a lone dog popping out of a yard in the middle of nowhere, total desert vibes. No owners, nothing. 👎 So, I pulled out some Nilla Wafers and tossed one to him. He ate it. I did that three more times. By the time I was down to my last cookie and wondering what to do when the snacks ran out, the dog just picked himself up and wandered back into the yard.
I’ve always been drawn to hot springs. There’s just something about the warm water. 😍 I’ve spent time at places like Cleveland, Aspen, California spas, Buckeye, and Palm Springs. For me, Cleveland was the winner. The California ones smelled absolutely terrible—like rotten eggs—and after visiting Aspen, I ended up with some kind of rash on my leg. 👎 As for back pain, I think the springs help, but you really need to start an exercise routine immediately. Some stretching, Pilates, or step aerobics would probably do the trick.
I went through something similar a while back. For me, it felt mostly psychological—I was dealing with some major life instability and zero sense of security, so everything just kind of started spiraling. 🙄 It eventually settled down on its own, though; didn't last that long.
I remember reading something about this a while back, maybe in the New York Post. The idea was you go in, they tuck you away in some private room, hand you a Playboy to get the job done, and then you walk out with enough cash for a coffee and a sandwich. 😁 Give them a call and see what's up.
I was on Diane to manage some hormonal issues. I knew depression would hit me hard during those first few days of starting them, and my heart would race whenever I tried to quit. But hey, they aren't even prescribed for birth control anyway; they're strictly medication.
Checking in from my summer vacation. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised by how much of a stir my last post caused. Just to clear the air: when I mentioned that movie wasn't for me, I wasn't taking a shot at the festival organizers. It was more of a passing comment about just not having much luck with Barack Obama. To be fair, I preferred the film lineup from previous years. That's all there is to it.
I’ve got some major gripes regarding this year’s film festival. First off, they set the screen up way too low at the Barbacan, so if you weren't sitting dead center, the subtitles were basically unreadable. I actually ended up dozing off during that Brazilian film by the Almost Brothers because of it. Next time we hit the Barbacan, we rushed to grab seats right in front of the screen, but then things went sideways. In that one movie from the North America, the actors were speaking Italian, yet the subtitles were in a local dialect using Cyrillic script. The organizer started apologizing and getting all emotional, so they finally swapped in English subtitles. I also caught the start of another flick—one about a son and his schizophrenic mother. It was pure "trauma porn," that whole vibe of "I suffered as a kid, so now I'll make you suffer." After fifteen minutes of watching nothing but misery, electroshock therapy, and depression, I decided my mental health couldn't take it and just walked out. Long story short, the Barbacan was a bust. Also, if they're going to schedule two movies at the exact same time, the programming should probably be balanced. Having two depressing films back-to-back isn't exactly a great experience. More to come later...
First off, people like that usually have massive, inflated egos that basically act as a cover for how little they actually like themselves. How does that ego show up? It’s in how he twists everything she does or says back to himself. If she grabs a plate for herself, he sees it as a slight—like, "Oh, she did that for HERSELF instead of ME." To him, it's an intentional snub.
Even for the most trivial things... he’s so self-absorbed that he actually believes everyone else is obsessed with him. He thinks people hate his guts and spends their entire day just plotting ways to get under his skin.
So, if she wants to watch Villa Maria, he doesn't see it as her just liking soap operas. To him, it’s part of some calculated scheme to make sure he can't watch the game.
Some people genuinely believe the universe revolves around them. If it rains, they act like it’s a personal vendetta to ruin their day. If the local grocery store is out of their favorite craft beer, they take it out on the cashier. It's pure narcissism.
Another thing about guys like that: they don't actually like themselves. Deep down, there’s this underlying belief that they aren't worthy of love—that it's just fundamentally impossible for anyone to truly care about them. It probably isn't even a conscious thought, but it's there.
So, what actually happens once he enters a relationship or gets married?
Things could go one of two ways:
In one sense, he just can't wrap his head around the idea that she actually loves him. So, he puts her through the wringer. He sets these impossible standards and throws up endless hurdles—just a series of ridiculous obstacles—all to "prove" to himself that her feelings aren't real.
Like, for example. So you say you love me. Fine. Let's test that theory. Will you still feel the same if I pull this stunt? What if I start insulting you? Or if I cheat? What if I try to control what you do for work? Or worse—what if things get physical? Let's see how much that "love" actually holds up under pressure.
It’s a lose-lose scenario. If a woman decides she’s had enough and walks away, the man just treats it as a win. He convinces himself he was right all along and that she never actually loved him—basically confirming his own subconscious theory that he's unlovable. If a woman gets caught in that downward spiral, he just keeps getting worse. It’s a slow erosion. Eventually, she loses her self-respect—and in extreme cases, she loses everything, even her physical health. Meanwhile, he loses whatever scrap of love or respect he once had for her; he ends up despising her because she lets him treat her that way. She stops loving him, too, but the cycle of victim and abuser just grinds on under the guise of "until death do us part." Usually, it's her life that ends prematurely.
It’s just the reverse—same principle, different expression:
He’s got this massive need for control, all because he can't stand himself. He acts like he’s top of the food chain to the outside world, but it’s just a massive ego trip—nothing more than an inflated balloon. He feels the need to belittle and control his partner because he can only tolerate his own existence if there’s someone else around who is even more pathetic and weaker than he is. His entire mission in the relationship is to break her down and force her into submission. While that kind of abuse often spirals into physical violence, in this specific dynamic, it’s much more about psychological warfare. It follows a classic pattern. First, they isolate the victim from friends, family, and coworkers to cut off any outside influence. It starts by pushing them to quit their job, then moves to cutting ties with girlfriends—because why bother with them when you have him?—and finally, severing contact with relatives, usually by labeling them as idiots. Then comes the systematic breakdown. They drill into her, convincing her she’s stupid, incompetent, a bad person, or a failure as a mother, until she actually starts believing it herself. It’s all about her. In the first scenario, he claims she’s out to get HIM; in this one, he’s constantly nitpicking HER. Everything is a flaw or a grievance: how she messed up dinner, how she didn't clean well enough, how she's dim-witted, how she doesn't understand anything, or how she can't seem to do a single thing right.
That’s when the victim starts wondering: if I’m really this terrible, why is he still with me?
And there’s the catch. He doesn't actually want her to be "good." If she were, he’d feel threatened. If everything were fine with her, he’d be forced to face his own insecurities and shortcomings—it's much easier to just point the finger at someone else. Besides, if she’s actually doing okay, who is left for him to push around or criticize to maintain that sense of control he craves? Not her. No, she has to be the problem. She has to be the one with the issues so he can keep living in the illusion that everything is fine with HIM. The truth is, he stays with her specifically because she plays along with this role. It feeds him. It gives him a sense of power. Facing someone who is actually stable makes him feel helpless, and that’s an uncomfortable place to be.
It’s brutal... the worst part is you can't spot a guy like that right away.🙄
I was browsing online and came across some info suggesting that whey protein—the stuff athletes usually grab to bulk up—might actually boost the immune system and help manage various conditions, including cancer.
How can you dodge dioxin in your food? Since animal fat is the main culprit, you really want to steer clear of beef and pork. Even chicken has some traces, though the levels are lower because of how they're raised.
From here on out, I'm sticking strictly to whey protein for my protein intake. 😳
I don't even know where to start. I honestly thought it was just some kind of joke, but I recently found out about this guy I know—he’s living with his sister. He's never actually had a girlfriend, and when he finally met someone he liked, he ended up cutting her off. To be honest, he isn't much to look at, and I wondered why he'd pass up a chance to date anyone, but it turns out he's basically cohabitating with his sister like they're a married couple. If you were in a similar spot with your brother, you'd probably try to set him up with someone, right? You'd grab some friends, throw a party, invite a crowd of girls and their friends just to get him out there. 🙄 It feels pretty twisted to me; if he ever hit a dry spell, he'd probably go after anything that moves, flies, or crawls.
I don't mean to be a pessimist here, but you might want to get some professional help for a colleague.
Better to act before she hits a breaking point—that moment where everything just snaps and brain function takes the hit. We’re talking about potentially losing basic skills like writing or even just finding her way around a room by tomorrow.
Look, side effects usually only pop up if you're overdoing it. Basically, just don't go pushing your Zinc intake past the daily recommended dose listed on the bottle.
quietdriver3 said:A book? Can you actually turn that into a video?? 😛
Ugh, maybe. I think there was some documentary about this a few years back.
Hmmmm.. are you saying hypochondriacs are emotionally less intelligent than everyone else????? 😕
😉 [/B]
Well, uhm, 🤔 hypochondria is an illness, so I don't know how you look at it. I think hypochondriacs know they aren't actually sick, but they're still freaking out.
Look, let's keep it simple. Anyone who spends most of their life stressing out, panicking, or just being self-destructive is acting foolishly, even if they're otherwise great at handling new situations. 😁 🙂